Tropical Sprangletop
Leptochloa virgata
Found in depression marshes, sinkholes, disturbed uplands and wetlands, also as a waif at wool-combing mill and on ballast at old seaports. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 29%
Will it fit your yard?No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 4 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Who uses this plant?
1CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Leptochloa
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Leptochloa
- Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
- Aythya collarisRing-necked Duck
- Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
- Mareca streperaGadwall
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Poaceae
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- FloraQuest: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications